


Crawfish and Cardigan

by Jhonni



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannigram - AU fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Awkward Boners, Awkward Flirting, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Hannigram - Freeform, Holding Hands, M/M, Meet-Cute, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 23:20:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7953091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jhonni/pseuds/Jhonni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A shamelessly fluffy teen hannigram meet cute</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crawfish and Cardigan

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments fill my heart with joy. As does sharing the [original post](http://lecteronthelam.tumblr.com/post/149791353842/crawfish-and-cardigan) on Tumblr or via the share button. Thank you for reading!!

There were a few places Will hated more than the mall. But not many.

Twenty minutes, he told himself. Any longer and his head might explode. He wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for the fucking gift card. The Gap. Really? What were they thinking? Next birthday, he’d ask for money. Screw them if they thought it was rude.

“I’ll take the bus. Don’t wait.” Will ducked out of the car without a goodbye. Through the automatic doors, he turned at the escalators, hoping it was the right direction. Of course every screaming kid in town was there. The cookies in the food court smelled good though. Maybe one for the road would ease the pain. 

Past the jewelry store, a few more shops full of useless things, he stutter stepped by Victoria’s Secret. His eyes dropped when a saleswoman shot him a look. Cursing his easy blush, he hurried down to the blue and white sign.

A pair of jeans. Maybe a few t-shirts. That’s it. 

A few minutes later, he had a small arm load. Why did the jeans have to come in so many cuts? Whatever happened to regular jeans?

Why was that guy looking at him?

And now he was headed over. So great. The only thing worse than shopping was having someone egg you on to spend more money. Will turned back to the clearance rack, blindly flipping from one button down to another. Maybe if he ignored him. Or if he just grunted. That worked on most people.

Try as he might, Will couldn’t help peeking over his shoulder. Had the first glance been wrong, or was Cardigan (as Will had already dubbed him) really as cute as he thought?

Umph. Yes.

Of all days to come straight from the boat yard. Grease under his nails. Stinking of the river. Not exactly the best first impression, but he’d have to make due. Any second now.

A toss of his head loosened the curls around Will’s face. Pink crept up his neck.

_Just don’t say anything stupid._

Cardigan stopped right beside him. His posture was stiff, but the smile was warm. He could have easily been a model. Everything neat and pressed. Bangs fringed seductively over his eyes. Angular features. Lips …

It was impossible not to stare. Will reminded himself to close his mouth.

“Hi.”

His cheeks tingled. It wasn’t the most embarrassing thing he’d ever said. A little breathless.

Cardigan’s smile lit up his eyes. His entire demeanor relaxed. “I like the blue one.”

Will shivered at his accent. It took a minute to realize Cardigan was touching one of the t-shirts draped over his arm. “This one?”

Their hands brushed. “Yes. This one.”

Will didn’t move. He couldn’t. A finger curled over his hand. Slowly looking up, a soft noise slipped out.

“It’s your color.”

“Is it?” It didn’t even sound like his voice.

“Why don’t you try it on?”

“Okay.”

What just happened? Safe in the dressing room, Will ran through it. One minute he was … And then … Jesus. That look. It couldn’t be his imagination. The bulge in Will’s jeans definitely wasn’t his imagination.

_It’s okay. Take a breath._

A glance in the mirror hit like a bucket of cold water.

_What are you doing? He’s out of your league. Probably works on commissions. Come on, Will._

Determined to get through it, Will tugged the t-shirt over his head. He wriggled into the one pair of jeans he liked best.

“May I see?”

Will called back, “Yeah, just a sec.”

Fine. A quick turn and he’d change back into his clothes.

Cardigan was standing just outside. Will threw his arms open. “Not much to see.” Cardigan took a long look, up and down. There was nothing subtle about it. A twitch drew Will’s attention. He prayed it didn’t show.

“I disagree.”

.Will shifted under the weight of his stare. “They’re a little tight.”

“In all the right places,” Cardigan offered.

_Oh. Fuck. I didn’t mean – Fuck._

Who knows what he meant. All he knew was he had to get away. Will dove back into the dressing room. In no time, he was back in his old clothes and headed to the cash register. Cardigan was close behind. Will tugged his lip. The whole thing was mortifying. He was too damn easy.

“All done then?”

Will flicked a glance over his shoulder. “Yep. All set. Thanks for your help.”

Cardigan angled for another look. “May I walk with you?”

“What?” Will turned, clearly confused. “Don’t you have to stay here?”

Cardigan smiled. “I don’t work here.”

“You don’t?”

“No.” He offered a hand. “My name is Hannibal. I probably should have started with that.”

Will stared a moment before reaching out. His jaw dropped as Hannibal kissed his hand. Those lips. “Cardigan,” he mumbled.

“Sorry?”

“Oh god. I mean - I was -” _So good, Will. Keep going._ “I didn’t know your name. So I was kinda …”

Hannibal blushed. “Crawfish.”

“What?” Will glanced down to his t-shirt. Fucking crawfish. “Oh. … Will. I’m Will.”

“Will, may I walk with you?”

For a second, Will thought he might whimper. A nod was the best he could do.

Hannibal slipped his hand into Will’s as they walked out of the store. “Do you like cookies?”

“You read my mind.” Will gave a squeeze.

Hannibal kept his eyes straight ahead. “Only a little.”

Will admired him openly. “Am I in trouble then?”

Not wasting a second, Hannibal fired back, “Definitely.”

**Author's Note:**

> Visit me on Tumblr at [lecteronthelam](http://lecteronthelam.tumblr.com/)


End file.
